Commerce Ministry News

The United States has launched an investigation into alleged unfair practices within China's shipbuilding and maritime industries, drawing ire from Chinese officials.The probe was launched Wednesday by U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai in response to a petition filed by five national labor unions accusing China of using "non-market policies that are far more aggressive and interventionist than any other country" to obtain dominance over the global shipbuilding, maritime and logistics sector."The American commercial shipbuilding industry is a shell of its former self. . .

China is set to release its first-ever quotas to export very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) with total volumes of 10 million tonnes for this year, six industry officials with knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday.The quotas, which came in the wake of Beijing’s policy in January to offer tax sweeteners to boost local production of the fuel, paves the way for Chinese refiners to almost fully cover the demand from its coastal bonded marine fuel market of 12-14 million tonnes annually.The quotas will be issued to four state-run firms - Sinopec Group, CNPC, China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOO

China and the United States are in touch over the signing of their Phase 1 trade deal, China's commerce ministry said, which will see lower U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods and higher Chinese purchases of U.S. farm, energy and manufactured goods.The Phase 1 deal was announced last week after more than two years of on-and-off trade talks, although neither side has released many specific details of the agreement.Both the Chinese and U.S. trade teams are in close communication, Gao Feng…

India's container trade growth slowed to 1 percent (9% in the same period last year) in Q2 2019 on account of various factors like growing trade tensions and slump in manufacturing sector, Maersk said."The slow down is due to a cocktail of international factors such as slowing trade growth, and growing trade tensions – coupled with domestic factors like rural consumer distress, tightening liquidity and a slow-down in key manufacturing sectors. Combined, these triggers impacted the country’s economic activity, slowing overall import-export growth," said Maersk India Trade Report Q2 2019.India’s exports to China declined by 20%, led by a reduction in demand for India-made textiles &  apparel, which were large export commodities in the corresponding period last year.

China unveiled on Friday retaliatory tariffs against about $75 billion worth of U.S. goods, putting an additional 10% on top of existing rates in the latest tit-for-tat exchange in a protracted dispute between the world's top two economies.The latest salvo from China comes after the United States unveiled tariffs on an additional $300 billion worth of Chinese goods, including consumer electronics, scheduled to go into effect in two stages on Sept. 1 and Dec. 15.China's commerce ministry said in a statement it would impose additional tariffs of 5% or 10% on a total of 5…

China's exports surged more than expected in July despite U.S. duties and its closely watched surplus with the United States remained near record highs, as the world's two major economic powers ramp up a bitter dispute that some fear could derail global growth.In the latest move by President Donald Trump to put pressure on Beijing to negotiate trade concessions, Washington is set to begin collecting 25 percent tariffs on another $16 billion in Chinese goods on Aug. 23.In a statement on its official website late on Wednesday, China's commerce ministry criticised the U.S.

Chinese imports to U.S. ports rose more than expected in June, suggesting that some retailers moved up orders to insulate themselves from an intensifying trade war that threatens to send up costs on a growing number of consumer products.Retailers such as Walmart Inc and Amazon.com face uncertainty due to U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to impose more tariffs on Chinese goods, and the jump in imports from the country was likely because of "pre-emptive buying in anticipation of the tariffs"…

China accused the United States of bullying and warned it would hit back after the Trump administration raised the stakes in their trade dispute, threatening 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods.China's commerce ministry said on Wednesday it was "shocked" and would complain to the World Trade Organisation, but did not immediately say how it would retaliate. In a statement, it called the U.S. actions "completely unacceptable".The foreign ministry described Washington's…

Dueling tariffs raise fears of long A U.S.-China trade fight resulting in duties on $34 billion worth of each other's imports was seen dragging on for a potentially prolonged period, as Washington and Beijing flexed their muscles with no sign of negotiations to ease tensions.Friday marked the start of the U.S. duties that were promptly met with retribution by China, as Beijing accused the United States of triggering the "largest-scale trade war."The escalating fight between the…

China will impose additional 25 percent tariffs on 659 U.S. goods worth $50 billion in response to the U.S. announcement that it will levy tariffs on Chinese imports, the Chinese commerce ministry said.Tariffs on $34 billion of U.S. goods including agricultural products such as soybeans will take effect from July 6, the ministry said. Soybeans are China's biggest import from the United States by value.The tariffs will also be applied to autos and aquatic products, the ministry said.The list of 659 U.S.

China's commerce ministry said on Friday that it may impose additional tariffs on up to $3 billion of U.S. imports in response to U.S. tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum products. The ministry said it was considering implementing measures in two stages: first, a 15 percent tariff on 120 products including steel pipes, dried fruit and wine, and later, a 25 percent tariff on pork and recycled aluminum. Below is a list of 128 U.S. 83  22043000  Grape juice other than that of heading item No.

A consortium of global and domestic funds, backed by investors including China Investment Corp, agreed to buy Australia's busiest port for a higher-than-expected A$9.7 billion ($7.3 billion), a sign that tough equity markets are helping fuel appetite for infrastructure. Australian leaders will also hope the deal shows they still welcome Chinese investment in infrastructure. The federal government last month blocked the sale of the country's biggest power network, Ausgrid, to state-owned State Grid Corp of China and Hong Kong-listed Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings on security concerns.

China's trade with North Korea rose in the first quarter in spite of tough new international sanctions this year targeting Pyongyang's banned nuclear program, including curbs on coal imports. Imports from the isolated country, consisting mainly of coal and clothes, rose 10.8 percent from a year earlier, customs spokesman Huang Songping said on Wednesday. China's exports to North Korea in the first quarter rose 14.7 percent from a year earlier in yuan terms, Huang told a news conference. China is North Korea's only major ally and most important trade partner. Exports consisted of electromechanical products, labor-intensive and agricultural products.

U.S. regulatory approval of a proposed shipping alliance involving AP Moeller Maersk should be a formality, the Danish company's chief executive said on Wednesday. The alliance between Maersk and Swiss-based Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC), the two largest container shippers in the world, will run 185 shared vessels on the trans-Atlantic, trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe routes, critical paths in global trade. The deal, known as 2M, was struck after a previous planned tie-up between Maersk, MSC and France's CMA CGM was undone by China's opposition, despite gaining clearance from the U.S.

More than 3,000 Chinese nationals have been evacuated from Vietnam, state news agency Xinhua said on Sunday, following deadly rioting that stemmed from an outpouring of rage over Chinese oil drilling in a disputed area of the South China Sea. The violence was triggered by China's positioning of a $1 billion oil rig in a part of the South China Sea claimed by Hanoi, a move described by the United States as provocative. It is the worst breakdown in ties between the two Communist neighbours since a short border war in 1979. The evacuation followed days of clashes between Vietnamese rioters and Chinese workers. Crowds of thousands massed as rioters turned against Chinese workers and Chinese-owned businesses…

It appears the battle over steel continues. In the wake of the U.S. lifting its own 20-month tarriff on steel imports late last year, China, the world's top steel importer, has reportedly placed a hefty import duties on high-grade metal used by the shipbuilding sectors, according to a Reuters report. The U.S. lifted its tarriff in the face of a potential trade war over the matter. China reportedly implemented the new tariffs after it concluded that there was dumping of cold-rolled steel by Russia, South Korea, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Taiwan. South Korea's POSCO, the world's fourth-largest steel maker, will be exempted as Chinese authorities concluded it was not selling its cold-rolled products below market prices, Reuters reported.

European Union and South Korean trade officials will meet next week in Seoul to resolve a dispute over alleged shipbuilding subsidies by Korean yards. "Working-level officials from the EU and Korea will discuss the hottest trade issue between the two parties from May 28-30 in Seoul," said Seoul's Commerce Ministry in a statement. Earlier in the month, European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy met South Korean Commerce Minister Hwang Doo-Yun to discuss the EU executive's threat to start a WTO (World Trade Organization) dispute against Seoul unless a deal could be reached by June 30. The EU argues that South Korea has granted substantial subsidies to its shipyards, contravening the WTO's 1994 Subsidies Agreement.

South Korea's Commerce Ministry plans to resume talks in Brussels this week with the European Union to settle ongoing conflicts in the shipbuilding industry, ministry officials said. "We will send higher-level officials to Brussels for talks to discuss pending matters concerning the shipbuilding industry," a ministry official said. A delegation led by South Korean Deputy Commerce Minister Lee Hee-beom was scheduled to meet with EU counterpart, Deputy Director General Peter Carl, on March 14, the official said. Both parties would discuss various issues, including the EU's accusation that the South Korean government subsidizes the Korean shipbuilding industry and the transparency of Korean shipbuilders' bookkeeping, the official said.

European Union (EU) and South Korean officials meet next week to try to settle a row over alleged subsidies to Korean shipyards and avert an EU threat to take the dispute to the World Trade Organization. Negotiators meet in Brussels on Monday and Tuesday. It could be the last chance for an amicable solution of the row over the EU's allegations that Seoul pays its shipbuilders illegal subsidies, subsidies which it says threaten the existence of European competitors. The EU's executive Commission said in May it would start a WTO dispute against South Korea -- the world's biggest shipbuilder -- over the issue unless a deal could be reached by June 30.

South Korean shipyards won shipbuilding orders of 4.2 million compensated gross tons (CGTs) during the first half of this year, down 36.9 percent from a year ago, the Commerce Ministry said on Wednesday. The orders in dollar terms amounted to $6.8 billion in the period, down 25.4 percent from the previous year, the ministry said in a statement. CGT shows a country's shipbuilding capacity and factors in manpower and added value. Ship-related exports in the first half of 2001 rose a record 44.1 percent to $5.7 billion, helped by exports of steel structures for oil drilling in the sea, it said.